Hi, I’m Jeff Babener of MLMLegal.com, and I’d like to talk to you today about how to get your product right the first time.

If your business is the machine and your software runs the machine then your product or service is, as the French would say, your reason for existence. In looking back on the history of the direct selling industry, a chicken and egg analysis makes it difficult to determine whether the business opportunity or product was the essential reason for commencement of the business. There are instances of both being true. The founders of Avon, Mary Kay, and Home Interiors came from successful experiences in marketing other products. They found a product suitable for their marketing talents. On the other hand, the founders of Nikken, Amazon Herbs, and Shaklee had a passion for bringing uniquely-new products to the world and direct selling became the best vehicle.

Your company will fit one of these two categories. However, whether it is one or the other, choose a product or service for which you can promote with passion. Be sure that the product is unique or that its formulation is unique to your company. If it is a commodity or generic product such as telephone service then you will need to create another unique marketing edge such as great service and value to market the product. The better of the MLM products are those with high margins resulting from the perception of uniqueness in the marketplace. In the end, a company will only succeed when selling a product of high quality at a reasonable price to a market that purchases the product on its own merits.

Overpriced products of dubious worth have no real long-term future. Death of the direct selling company occurs when distributors are caught informing business opportunities meetings that the product is really irrelevant and is merely an excuse for the marketing plan. Another vocabulary term for this phenomenon is pyramid.

Equally important to choosing the right product is the assurance that your marketing will not be impaired by poor planning. Your initial vendor agreements should be drafted or reviewed by MLM counsel so that you do not find yourself stranded without product, or worse, find your manufacturer in competition with you.

Regulatory compliance is essential for such issues as FDA for labeling and claims, consumer standards for water and air products, or compliance with discount buying legislation. If you are importing products then you should be assured in the beginning that your product will not be subject to embargo or detention. And, obviously, you should be assured that your distributors and customers would have an uninterrupted supply of product because you have established adequate capacity to produce the product or the service.

Wishing you the best in your direct-selling business, I’m Jeff Babener.

Make sure to visit our blogs for the latest information on the direct selling industry: MLMLegal Blog Home and MLM Attorney Blog Home. HINT: Chose a category to narrow your search for discussion topics!

And, as always, visit MLMLegal.com, the best MLM resource on the web. The next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference is quickly approaching! On February 21st and 22nd, 2013 we are hosting the MLM Conference for the 25th year! This is now our 63nd annual conference (held almost consistently three times per year over the last 24 years). All executives/owners of MLM, direct selling, network marking, and party plan companies are welcome to attend. This is the original MLM Startup Conference, hosted and perfected by direct selling industry expert, MLM Attorney Jeff Babener. Call 503-226-6600 or 800-231-2162 to register. (Can’t make this event? Keep an eye out for our May and October conferences as well.)